Pacific Rim: King of the Kaiju
by P.J. Lowry
Summary: Herc Hansen learns details about a local Kaiju that the Jaegar program has been tracking since the first Kaiju attack in Tokyo. The creature in question has been friendly so far, but Stacker is unsure how long it will stay that way.


**Author's Note:** This story takes place in March of 2020, right after the Kaiju battle just outside Anchorage, Alaska when Yancy Becket was killed in action. A little over a month after Raleigh Becket leaves the Jaegar program.

Herc Hansen usually did his best to not make waves, so when the Marshall called him to his office to speak privately, he had no idea what was going on. Usually when he got into trouble, both he and his Jaegar mate would be called down together to get their telling off as a team. Yet not this time. He was going to get some one on one time with the man in charge and that did make Hansen a tad uneasy. As he strolled up to the door, he softly knocked but was loud enough for the Marshall to hear him.

"Enter," a voice called from within.

Herc slowly opened the door, and let himself in. After closing the door behind him, Herc walked over to the middle of the room and saluted. Stacker Pentecost returned with a half asses salute of his own.

"At ease, Hansen." Stacker said as he gesture to one of the chairs left over, "Take a seat. Can I offer you some Scotch?"

"I'm not sure we should be drinking," Herc replied.

"When you hear what I've got to tell you," Stacker said, pouring two glasses anyway, "You're going to want this drink."

"What's going on?" Herc said, as he wasn't a fan of the tone he was sensing.

Pentecost handed the drink to Herc and then sat down with his own. "I've got some bad news I have to share with you. I need your assurances that whatever we discuss will remain between the two of us."

"You have it," Herc said, taking a sip of the Scotch to brace himself.

"I'm dying," Stacker said, just ripping the bad news off like a band aid.

"Shit," Herc replied, "What the hell have you got?"

"Cancer," Stacker said, shrugging. "Most of the original Jaegar pilots were exposed from being too close to the core. I was aware of the dangers, and I'm prepared to pay the bill."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Herc said, trying to be supportive.

"You will be," Stacker said, sipping his own glass, "Especially when you find out what's happening to you because of it."

"What do you mean?" Herc asked.

"You've been promoted," Pentecost informed him, "And you're going to be groomed to take over the Jaegar program, to take my place when I pass on."

"Isn't that a tad premature?" Hansen asked, "I mean shouldn't at least wait to see how you do after your first round of Chemo?"

"I'm not doing Chemo, no treatments at all." Stacker told him, "The program needs me to be at my best, especially after what just happened to the Becket brothers."

"Dammit, that was a sick fight." Hansen said, "I'm stunned the younger Becket's brain didn't implode when he ran that Jaegar by himself. It's one thing to run a Jeager by yourself, but to defeat a Kaiju by yourself, he's never going to let us hear the end of it when he gets back."

"Becket's not coming back." Stacker corrected him, "He's pretty torn up about losing his brother, and I can't say I blame him. The odds of him being able to drift with anyone else after something that traumatic are unlikely. I doubt he'll ever pilot a Jaegar again."

"That's damn a shame," Herc said, "The Beckets were good pilots, and that is a resource we cannot afford to lose right now."

"I agree, but there's nothing we can do." Pentecost concurred. "In order for you to assume command when the time comes, you're going to have to be briefed on data concerning the war that isn't available to the public or even to the majority of those within the Jaegar program."

"What kind of secrets?" Herc asked.

"The kind that warrants a refill," Pentecost said as he took Herc's glass from him and started to walk back to his small liquor stash. "Quick question: how many times have the Kaiju attacked Japan?"

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but I only remember one." Hansen said, thinking about it, "That one in Tokyo in 2016, when you fended off Onibaba. Correct?"

"That's what the public believes," Pentecost said as he sat down. "Truth is there have been a total of three attacks on Japan. One just outside Osaka and another that took place off the south coast. Neither of them made landfall."

"I never heard of these attacks," Herc said, curious about what that was. "What the hell happened out there that made these attacks classified to the point that even Jaegar pilots were kept in the dark about it?"

"When I defended Tokyo in 2016," Stacker stated, "The reports you all read about my heroics was actually the redacted version of events. The truth is I wasn't alone out there. I had help fighting off that Kaiju."

"You had help," Herc repeated, thinking about it. "Another Jaeger?"

"No," Pentecost corrected, "Another Kaiju."

"There were two Kaijus?" Herc said, "There's never been an event with two Kaijus attacking at the same time!"

"That wasn't the case here," Stacker continued, "Whatever the other Kaiju was, it didn't come from the Rift. Like I previously stated, it did not attack me, but instead helped me defeat the Kaiju that did come from the Rift."

"I don't get it," Herc said, trying to wrap his mind around it. "If it didn't come from the Rift, where is this Kaiju from?"

"The program believes this Kaiju is local." Pentecost explained, "That it was born here on Earth, and has been living with us for quite some time."

"A local Kaiju?" Herc repeated. He paused for a moment and then drained his whole glass with a single gulp. "Unbelievable."

"I know, right?" Stacker said as he sat back down. "I wouldn't have believed it if I didn't see it with my own eyes. It was like a giant lizard with green scales, plates on his back like a dinosaur and even a long whip like tail. It was like a giant gator that was walking on its hind legs."

"It walked upright?" Herc asked, "You've got to be taking a piss!"

"I'm afraid not," Pentecost said, his face stone cold as when he started talking.

"And it helped you?" Herc asked.

"It did," Stacker confirmed, "Distracted it long enough for me to finish it off from behind. That fight could have been a lot uglier if that Kaiju was all over me when I was trying to fire the Jaeger's arsenal. That thing saved me and a lot of people that day. Can you believe it? A Kaiju saving the people from a Rift attack."

"So what about the other two attacks?" Herc inquired.

"Same thing," Stacker answered, "This local Kaiju came out of hiding and intercepted the Kaiju from the Rift and destroyed them both before either had a chance to make landfall. The enemy was killed and the local had disappeared before we even got a chance to chopper a Jaegar out there."

"How did it know the attack was coming?" Herc continued to inquire.

"We suspect that this Kaiju can sense whenever the Rift being used," Stalker continued. "We also believe he mobilized himself every time the rift opened just in case any of the Kaijus challenged its territory."

"There hasn't been an official attack on Japan in quite a few years." Herc noted, "Did the enemy just realize that challenging this local Kaiju wasn't such a good idea?"

"It certainly seems that way," Pentecost agreed, "They haven't so much as sniffed that part of the Pacific in over half a decade. They don't appear to want to mess around with this particular Kaiju."

"Does this Kaiju have a name?" Herc asked.

"It does," Stacker said, smiling at his friend as he was aware he wouldn't like the answer. "Godzilla."

Herc's face dropped with a look that told Pentecost that he did not believe what he was telling him. "You've got to fucking kidding me? Like the movie?"

"Hey, I really liked that movie," Stacker replied, "And so does the military, because it gives us plausible deniability. If someone spots our local Kaiju, we laugh it off as some guy in Japan that needs to take the tin foil hat off and ease up on the monster movies. We've been lucky that no one has got any video of this Kaiju, so it allows us to keep his existence a secret for now."

"This is got to be a joke," Herc repeated, "You're pulling my fracking leg!"

"I assure you, I am not." Stacker said, never losing eye contact. "You need to be aware of this Kaiju if you're going to run this place one day, to know that if there is an attack anywhere near Japan that you don't need to send any Jaegers out there, unless the Rift sends out more than one. Like you said, that's never happened before."

"This is why the Tokyo Shatterdome was shut down first after the budget cuts," Herc said, thinking about it. "This local Kaiju saved you some serious coin. There's no point keeping Jaegars out there if this big bastard has got that part of the Pacific covered."

"Exactly," Stacker confirmed, "He bought us some time, but it's only delaying the inevitable. We're going to eventually move all our Jaegars to one Shatterdome to save as much resources as we can."

"Hong Kong," Harc guessed, "It's the halfway point and can cover the most ground if necessary. It also blocks the channel into the Indian Ocean."

"That was my thinking too," Stacker said, finally cracking a smile. "You see, I was right. You do have what it takes to do this job."

"Until you kick the bucket," Herc informed him, "I'm still going to pilot my Jaegar with Chuck. That's not going to change, we clear on that?"

"We're clear; you and Chuck will not be separated." Stacker concurred, "Good pilots are hard to find. I'd get back into one if I wasn't so unhealthy, but that's not in the cards for me anymore. The best I can do is call the plays from the bench and do my best to guide you in battle."

"I'll take all the help I can get," Herc told him, "Especially if this local decides to come out of hiding and make life for us uncomfortable."

"He hasn't yet," Pentecost said, "But we need to trend very carefully, because if Japan does something to piss him off then all bets are off. You better hope that never happens. Fighting a class five Kaiju is not my idea of a good time."

"He's a class five?" Herc repeated, "I need another drink…"

"This is highly classified," Pentecost said as he stood up and took Herc's glass. "You are not to share this Intel with anyone."

"Who the hell would believe me?" Herc asked, "Would you believe me if I tried to tell you that Godzilla was in fact a Kaiju that lived in the Pacific Ocean?"

"I suppose not," Pentecost agreed, "but let's keep it on the down low anyway."

"I won't be able to keep this from my son," Herc informed him, "The next time we drift, he's going to see and hear every word of this conversation. That will be fun."

"You son is a good kid," Stacker said, "I'm confident he will keep our secret and be more pleased to hear about your promotion."

"Nope," Herc disagreed, "He'll be focused on the big lizard, and nothing else. I think he's seen that movie too, a few times actually."

The two men shared a good laugh as Stacker handed him a refill and held his own glass up to make a toast.

"Here's to Godzilla," He said, "King of the Kaiju."


End file.
